


Just As We Are, So Shall We Stay And Die

by StellarLibraryLady



Series: Weird But Beautiful [10]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alamo Reference, Carnage - Freeform, Courage, Death, Friendship, Gen, Integrity, death in battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:15:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25604173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarLibraryLady/pseuds/StellarLibraryLady
Summary: Even though there are dying and dead all around them, the crewmen of the Enterprise will keep on fighting until there are none of them left.
Relationships: James T. Kirk & Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock
Series: Weird But Beautiful [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1761436
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	Just As We Are, So Shall We Stay And Die

"Do you have any feeling left at all, Jim? Can you move your fingers at all?" McCoy asked as he struggled to tie Kirk's useless left arm together one more time. He looked harried and disheveled and dirty, but he was still tending to his patients. Then he winced with his own pain, and Kirk saw it.

"You shouldn't be handling me, Bones. Not with your ribs busted up the way they are."

"Yeah, I'll probably develop pneumonia in both lungs from them." He smirked with the irony of the situation they were in. "Well, that's something I sure as hell won't have to worry about now, is it?"

"Bones, I'm sorry," Kirk said softly.

"Yeah, we all are," McCoy answered wistfully, then focused himself. "Me, I'm sorry I can't do more for you. I wish I could get you back to the ship. Then I could treat you better. A replicator would work miracles on you." He grimaced because of his inadequacies. "Damnit, I could do so much! If I just could!"

Kirk looked dejected. Blood and dirt and sweat streaked his once handsome face. Probably a lot of tears were mixed in, too. And his face looked older. Hellish older. But it had a good reason. Kirk had seen a lot of good men and women die today. And he had lost the Enterprise.

"What ship, Bones? It's gone. All gone. And we're the only ones left."

McCoy didn't bother trying to shoot glorious sunshine up him. "Did you ever expect to find a mess like this, Jim? It was supposed to be a peaceful mission to extend the hand of friendship to this new planet. That's what they told us they wanted."

"They lied, Bones. They lied their sorry asses off to lure us into a trap. And now we're all goners."

McCoy grimaced. He didn't try to contradict Kirk. Why lie when the truth was so obviously glaring at anyone to see?

Jim Kirk was disgusted and discouraged right down to the marrow of his tired bones and the depths of his once gallant and optimistic heart. But that seemed like a hundred years ago when it was actually only a few short hours ago. "And what's worse is that we'll be used by these bastards as an example of what they can do to Federation 'peace' ships. At least we won't live to see what carnage will be created because we failed."

"Jim, we did not fail. We stayed true to what we came here for. There is no dishonor in being deceived. We fought the good battle and stayed true to ourselves and to each other. I say that we have been very successful in how we have lived. Now, and always before. We have been good men. We have lived up to that."

Kirk's eyes filled with tears. "'To thyself be true.' Thanks, Bones. I needed to be reminded of that.'"

McCoy smiled softly. "We both did."

Spock rushed up at that time, circling low through the surrounding rocks and trees to avoid detection. Green blood seeped from a dozen places on his body and marred his once immaculate uniform. He was dragging one leg and was staggering a little with fatigue, but he still managed to report back to his captain.

"Captain." He could not summons the energy to salute. But it was there, in his voice.

"Mr. Spock." Kirk tried to summons a little bit of cheer when seeing his old friend again. "What news do you bring?"

Spock slowly shook his head and bit his lips together. "Alpha shift. Gone, sir. All gone. Sulu. Chekov. Uhura. Scott. The best of the best."

Kirk grimaced. His crew? Gone? "All?" he whispered. "All of those gallant souls and true? My loyal crew?"

Spock bit back the memory of the carnage. "I saw them. Yes. Gone. All." He looked into Kirk's eyes. "We are all that is left." He glanced at McCoy. "We three. And soon it will be our turn. The savages are regrouping." He paused and listened. "I hear them coming now. For us."

Kirk slowly nodded his head. So this was it. The end.

But he would not meet it sitting down.

He struggled to his feet as he heard the yelling of the savages getting closer. "Help me, Bones. I will not look weak now."

McCoy grabbed his right arm to help him stand, and Spock stepped forward to help. For a moment, the three old friends stood fused together. As they had always been.

Kirk summonsed fire into his eyes for the sake of his old friends as they stood looking at each other one final time. Scared, but glad they were together. It was so much better than being alone.

What could he possibly tell them?

Only the truth as he saw it.

"I'm sorry, guys, I never intended for this to happen. I am so deeply sorry that this is it for you."

"What's the problem, Jim?" McCoy asked with added volume to his voice, a volume that he was suddenly feeling. "To me, we're being blessed one more time." He flashed a smile that was all white teeth in his dirt and blood streaked face. "I might've opted for all us getting severe cases of measles at the same time in the old people's home, but this will work out nicely, too. At least we're together."

Then Kirk calmed and got almost a jaunty look on his face. "You're right, Bones. This is the best way." This is what they had signed up for. The guts. The glory. And the unspoken wish that they could finish the whole show together. He couldn't have constructed it better himself.

"Well, gentlemen, shall we go out in a blaze of glory? Back to back in a triangle, and with our wounds only on the front sides of us as they did at the Alamo?"

So that was how they stood, until they could stand no longer. McCoy fell first, and then Spock. And it was the sorrow of losing them as much as his wounds that finally took Kirk down. But they were together, damnit! Together, to the bitter end!

And that was the way they were buried. In a triangle with their heads together. For although their killers were savages, they respected bravery and so honored their fallen enemy accordingly.

The three heroes could have done much worse.

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing of Star Trek, its characters, and/or its story lines.


End file.
